Practice Areas

 

Auto Accidents

If you’ve been involved in a car accident in Stockton and have suffered a serious injury or have lost a loved one due to negligence that caused the auto accident, Walter T. Wroten at Brookman and Wroten can help. We have recovered millions for our clients and have helped our clients recover damages for:

  • Pain and Suffering

  • Medical costs

  • Future medical costs

  • Rehabilitation costs

  • Lost Wages

  • Loss of future earnings

Auto accidents are the leading cause of injuries in the United States. According to the NHTSA, in 2004 there were 2,788,000 injuries and over 42,000 deaths due to auto accidents.

With any personal injury case you must prove negligence of another person or product . Our lawyers understand how to help you determine who is liable in order to help you get the highest compensation possible for your auto accident injury case. Do not take an insurance company's settlement offer until you talk to a highly skilled personal injury lawyer from our law office. We will help you determine the full extent of your injuries so you can get the compensation you deserve as a result of your auto accident.

There is absolutely no cost to you so call us today and let us expertly evaluate your car accident case. All our cases are taken on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win. We specialize in representing victims of serious injuries resulting from all types of auto accidents. Some of the cases we’ve successfully represented include:

  • Back Injury from an auto accident

  • Brain Injuries resulting from car accident

  • Head Injury from a car accident

  • Neck Injury from automobile accident

  • Spinal Cord Injury from auto accident

  • Wrongful Death vehicle accident

The law entitles you to damages and compensation for your injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident if your injury is a direct result of the car accident and the accident was caused due to another person’s negligence. If the fault of the other person can be established, we will be able to help you to recover compensation and damages that you deserve.

 

Motorcycle Accident

Motorcycle accidents comprise a significant number of accident-related fatalities each year, approximately eight percent, even though motorcyclists represent a minority of drivers (a mere two percent) on the road. Motorcycles provide little protection in a crash. At best, the motorcyclist is protected by a safe helmet, leather apparel to protect his body, arms & legs, while riding a motorcycle with good brakes and mechanically sound. The motorcyclist even in optimum situations is no contest for the errant driver of an automobile or truck as well as road hazards that may be found on streets and highways. Motorcycle accidents, therefore, most often result in serious injuries or the death of the motorcycle driver.

Safe design requires that road users must have sufficient time to be able to see, process and react to information. The principles are the same for motorcyclists and all road users, however, the standards are more critical for motorcyclists as errors can have more severe consequences.

What Types of Hazardous Road Design & Defects Cause Motorcycle Accidents? Some of the most common design hazards include:

  • Limited visibility

  • Weather

  • Blind corner

  • Lack of appropriate warning

  • Glare from poorly sited street lights

  • Poor sight lines

  • Speed hump

  • Poor delineation of vehicle path

  • Barrier curbing

  • Low curbing

  • Cobble stones or pavers

  • Landscaping

  • Traffic islands that are not lit or delineated for night visibility

  • Culverts

  • Uncovered drainage pits

  • Motorcycle Accidents Resulting from

  • Product Defects

Compensation for Motorcycle Accidents May Include:

  • Payment of your medical bills.

  • Compensation for future medical care.

  • Repair or replacement of your motorcycle.

  • Medical treatment, whether you have insurance or not.

  • Recovery of your loss of earnings and any future losses.

  • Reimbursement for your out of pocket expenses incurred.

  • Maximum recovery for pain and suffering of your physical and emotional injuries.

  • Rental Reimbursement.

 

Truck Accident

An accident that involves a big rig or 18 wheeler commonly involves serious injuries and deaths since cars are designed under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to handle impacts from other normal sized vehicles. Truck accidents are an everyday occurrence in California for a variety of reasons including:

  • Driver fatigue

  • Overly demanding truck driver schedules

  • Failure to properly inspect tires, brakes and lights

  • Tailgating

  • Long work-shifts

  • Cell phone use

  • Failure to install blind spot mirrors

  • Dangerous lane changes

  • Jackknifing

  • Aggressive Truck Driving

  • Driving over the speed limit

If you or a family member has suffered a serious injury or death from a truck accident contact a Northern California truck accident attorney at Brookman & Wroten to protect your rights. Delays can harm your case and important evidence can disappear, so call immediately and get a free consultation. There is no cost to you unless we win your truck accident injury case.

TRUCK ACCIDENT STATISTICS

Large trucks like big rigs, 18 wheelers and tractor trailers account for over 25% of the deaths in multiple vehicle traffic accidents. The truck drivers in most cases walk away unharmed, as nearly 98% of people seriously injured due to a truck accident happen to be the other driver(s) involved in the crash. Recent statistics show:

  • Every day 90 people in the U.S. are injured or killed in a truck related accident.

  • More than 450,000 large trucks are involved in crashes each year.

  • More than 1,000,000 people were involved in the crashes.

  • More than 5,000 are killed each year.

  • More than 140,000 injuries occur due to a truck accident.

  • One third of the injured suffered catastrophic damage.

All motorists should be aware of the dangers associated with sharing our roads with large trucks. While proving a physical or emotional injury can oftentimes be difficult, our experienced personal injury attorneys understand how to undertake difficult cases and win. We are committed to protecting the rights of the clients we represent.

 

Wrongful Death

A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of the negligence (or other liability) on the part of the defendant’s, and that the surviving dependents or beneficiaries are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant’s conduct. If a loved one has been a victim of a wrongful death, contact us for a free Wrongful Death case evaluation.

Under “common law” (the general legal principles passed from England to the United States over hundreds of years) this type of claim did not exist. It was reasoned that the claim died with the victim, and the surviving family members could not claim damages from the person who caused the victim’s death. To correct this injustice, the individual states have passed “wrongful death statutes” over the years, and some form of wrongful death claim action exists in all state jurisdictions today. While they all follow some general principles, each state jurisdiction is unique, since each state has drafted its own form of “wrongful death statute.”

In order to bring a wrongful death action, a death must have been caused by the wrongful, negligent, careless, or reckless act of a person, company or municipality.

The descendants' survivors are able to file a Wrongful Death Claim. These survivors are defined as: the decedent's spouse, children, parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support, any blood relatives and adopted brothers and sisters. This includes children born out of wedlock of a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father, unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the child’s support.


Dog Bite

Dog bite laws vary from state to state, but California is one of the states that supports statutory strict liability , which means that the stringent laws making owners liable for injuries caused by a dog bite are intended to protect others from being needlessly victimized from irresponsible dog owners.

Each year there are 4.7 million dog-bite incidents. Two million of these victims are children. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Humane Society of the United States , dog bites requiring medical attention number 500,000 to 800,000 annually. Approximately fifteen of these people will die as a result of these attacks.

The legal rights of a dog bite victim depend on where the attack happens. Laws vary from state to state, and sometimes even from city to city. In most states a victim can recover compensation from a dog owner because of the state’s “dog bite statute.” Dog bite law in California is very strict, and depending upon the circumstances, a victim can recover compensation from:

  • a person whose negligence caused the attack

  • a person who violated a leash law or a law prohibiting dogs from “running at large,” and

  • a person who kept a dog with the knowledge that the dog had a history of injuring people.

Dog bite statistics show that once a dog has bitten, the dog is more likely to bite again. Statistics on dog bites also show that 60% of all dog bite victims are children and that the dog bites they suffer usually occur close to home. While dog bite fatalities are rare, statistics show that 15 to 20 people are killed in vicious fatal dog attacks every year.